Defense Department to give $250 million to Tucson?s Raytheon for new missiles

Tucson-based defense contractor Raytheon Missile Systems was
awarded more than $250 million in two Defense Department contracts
Friday, which fulfill commitments from the Army and the US Missile Defense
Agency.

An earlier generation of the Standard Missile-3 system launched from a Japanese navy ship. The U.S. awarded Raytheon nearly $50 million to finish development of the newest Standard Missile-3 today. (Photo courtesy of NavAir Photo Pt.Mugo CA via Raytheon)

The first contract is for nearly $50 million to help Raytheon
finish development of the newest line of missiles designed to shoot down
long-range Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) in mid-air. They will be
used for a planned missile defense shield in Europe and are nearly ready for production.

An earlier generation of the missiles are already deployed on
U.S.
and Japanese navy Destroyers.

The other $200 million will buy long-range tube-launched,
optically-tracked, wireless-guided TOW
missiles that Raytheon manufactures in Tucson and Farmington, N.M. They were ordered by the Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

Raytheon said no new jobs will come from the contracts because
they are for on-going manufacturing and development projects.

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